Rare Photos Of Germany Before It Was Destroyed By War

Long before it was crippled and destroyed by two World Wars, Germany was a land of beauty, gothic splendour and picturesque villages. After the second world war ended on September 2nd 1945, Germany went through decades of rebuilding with much of it’s original beauty bombed and laying in ruins.

h/t: sobadsogood

Castle of Sigmaringen

But thanks to a new photobook titled ‘Germany around 1900: A Portrait in Colour‘ you can finally revisit all some of the famous landmarks. cobbled streets and bourgeois splendour before it was consigned to rubble and ruin. The book contains around 800 nostalgic images and is the result of a collaboration between museum curator and author Karin Lelonek, photo researcher Sabine Arqué and vintage photo collector Mark Walter.

The coast around Westerland

Together the three of them agreed to use the technique of photochromation, which places colour back into black and white photographs, injecting a sense of life and vibrancy into to their impressive photographic collection.

Bedroom, Neuschwanstein Castle, south of Munich

Heinstein Castle near Trechtingshausen / Butchers’ Guild Hall, Hildesheim

Schwerin grand-ducal palace, Mecklenburg

Bastei Bridge

Frederick Bridge and Berlin’s cathedral

Traditional German kitchen

Wernigerode Town Hall